Trailer Life: LTE

[jimmoore13]

For years I have suggested Trailer Life as enjoyable light reading and a somewhat useful source of information. No longer.

This is my letter to the editor (LTE) of TL. It speaks for itself.

LTE:

I've been a subscriber since purchasing my rig in 2014. I am very disappointed in "Get a Grip" (January 2019, pg. 42) on tow vehicle tires. Whether deliberate or an oversight, omitting Michelin from an article on truck/SUV tires is inexcusable. In your words, "Since everything is riding on the tires," leaving out what is arguably the best tire brand worldwide (according to THE leading consumer magazine) leads me to believe I cannot trust the content in Trailer Life.

I have, for years, carried two gift subscriptions along with my own. I will not be renewing any of them.

[bikendan]

Probably because Michelin wouldn't pay TL to include their tires, like the other companies did.
Or they wouldn't supply free tires.
It's the game you have to play.

Not that big a deal. And I'm a big fan of Michelins.

[Jfkmk]

Nothing to get excited about.

[My17Ram]

Don’t see where its a big deal. Michelin is a good tire but there are many other good brands. I’d like to see the article. May subscribe.
Thanks

[TeachTexas]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Probably because Michelin wouldn't pay TL to include their tires, like the other companies did.
Or they wouldn't supply free tires.
It's the game you have to play.

Not that big a deal. And I'm a big fan of Michelins.

X2
The game is played that way in other industry mags as well.

[B and B]

Trailer Life, Good Sam, Camping World and all products or services are not purchased by me. The articles in TL are advertorials not RV Journalism which is what I would expect.

[Kimber45]

In my humble opinion Michelin is in the same category as Bose Speakers. You are not paying for the quality of product you are paying for the advertising so you think you are getting a quality product.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Probably because Michelin wouldn't pay TL to include their tires, like the other companies did.
Or they wouldn't supply free tires.
It's the game you have to play.

Not that big a deal. And I'm a big fan of Michelins.

Tend to agree and last tv had Michelin and where great. First vehicle I had with those tires. Ready to install on my new Ram.

I've been getting Trailer life for a long time they hit and miss on articles but over all pretty good reading. Later RJD

[A32Deuce]

Two sets of those crappy tires, never again.
I have better luck with the ST tires I buy for my trailer!

[Paulie1138]

Ditto on the Bose and Michelin. As for Bose, ask any audio engineer. Not the great speaker they are made out to be, and more expensive than many comparable,

I had 3 sets of michelin LT tires within 5 years have to be sidelined due to bad sidewall cracking. First set, not covered as I was not the original owner, despite the dealer putting them on the vehicle to sell it to me. Second set failed same way. 3rd set bought as what was supposed to be warranted. Michelin ended up not covering them as it was caused by ozone. Sold the van they were on less than a year later to my neighbor. They too failed. The tires were driven daily and very well maintained. Again, not warranted due to ozone. See ya Michelin. Not ever going there again. You have lost a loyal customer. Currently have Firestones on a nearly identical vehicle. Driven under the same conditions, parked in the same assigned spot at work and driveway. Almost 5 years, 40,000 miles, no cracking or issues.

Oh, by the way, the Phoenix metro area is not one of the higher ozone capitals in this country either, and the “Michelin Man” could not explain away the failures.

[A32Deuce]

Thats what I went to on the MH, car trailer and my pick up and my 62 Falcon.

[KyDan]

We subscribed to TL for several years. My favorite part- the page I always read 1st was the back inside page. The dude who wrote about his travels pointed us to a couple of great adventures. He's now editor or some other position and not writing the back page story.

It seems odd that they omitted Michelin to me as well. I put them on my Silverado and liked them. I wanted a good tire for wet and dry traction and a quiet ride. I don't care about AT because we avoid the mud and if it's snowing I ain't going....
They were very quiet and I'd buy them again. In fact I have Michelin Defenders on both cars as well.

I wouldn't let that omission turn me away. We all know those magazines are more or less infomercials. There's still a lot of good info in there but if you're researching a subject they are only one part of the puzzle.

[formerFR]

this is why I sometimes 'look' at these magazines and articles, but RARELY believe them or rely on their supposedly 'objective' info...
It's very rare that you find ANYONE who is really completely objective when it comes to 'comparing' brands and products, as even we, ourselves, tend to 'lean' toward those that we've had personal experience with, or maybe just know more 'about' than others.
Just take a look at all of the forum threads with headlines or posts with the term 'china bomb', and you'll start to see the same unrealiable 'objective' discussions about tires, as though NO products or brand that is made in 'china' is somehow not defective, is unreliable, or is guaranteed to be 'less than' than products made 'in the usa'.
We do the same thing that the OP is complaining that the magazine does - but it's normal, but just not reliable.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by formerFR

this is why I sometimes 'look' at these magazines and articles, but RARELY believe them or rely on their supposedly 'objective' info...
It's very rare that you find ANYONE who is really completely objective when it comes to 'comparing' brands and products, as even we, ourselves, tend to 'lean' toward those that we've had personal experience with, or maybe just know more 'about' than others.
Just take a look at all of the forum threads with headlines or posts with the term 'china bomb', and you'll start to see the same unrealiable 'objective' discussions about tires, as though NO products or brand that is made in 'china' is somehow not defective, is unreliable, or is guaranteed to be 'less than' than products made 'in the usa'.
We do the same thing that the OP is complaining that the magazine does - but it's normal, but just not reliable.

Agreed.

Take the article with a grain of salt and move on.

We all have to read these posts, articles, opinions, infomercials, advetorials or whatever you want to call them and make our own decisions.

Just because someone feels TL made a mistake by not including Michelin doesn't mean the next person believes that.

I really don't understand the thinking of canceling the entire magazine because of one article.

Maybe there were additional things the OP didn't care for and this was the straw that broke the camel's back but they didn't elude to that. I don't know but that seems kinda like throwing the baby out with the bath water.

I don't agree with a lot of opinions posted here but I'm not going to take the philosophy of unsubscribe and walk away from the forum because someone didn't say what I believe to be better advice in a certain post.

[Summit1]

Gee... I saw the title and thought this was another cell phone/carrier thread.

As for not including Michelin (or other brands), there are a number of reasons why they were not reviewed, some of which were already mentioned. Either way, Trailer Life is just another magazine and web site. Reviews are always biased... even in "Consumer Reports"... and many come from folks who are not well educated on the topic, but rather offer opinions (and we all know what is said about opinions ).


The good news is that most everybody has a right to an opinion; the other good news is that most everybody has the right to believe or ignore said opinion.

[CaptnJohn]

I read TL with a grain of salt and only a few articles in the thin magazine are of interest. I'll still run Michelin tires on the TV and Sailun on the 5er until something better is available,

[clarkbre]

The exclusion of Michelin's is not odd at all. Michilen likely didn't give Trailer Life a free set of tires to review or Trailer Life would not allow Michelin to bribe them with for a good review. This happens often in every industry and review.

I've got Michelin LTX AT2's on my F250 and can't wait to get them off the truck. They are not special in any way and do not perform well as an AT tire when you actually need an AT tire.

You are free to no longer read the magazine; however, in my humble opinion, you may miss out on some of the good information they provide.

As Momma always said: Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[Grumpy7159]

If it is printed on glossy paper I take it with a grain of salt. Even Consumer Reports has missed the mark on several articles. They are biased also. Michelin or Firestone tires are not at the top of my list from previous experience. I am looking for tires to buy this spring and they will be required to carry a load and be all terrain.

[nomad297]

Trailer Life Magazine is just another source of income for Marcus Lemonis.

Many of the “articles” are poorly written/edited and I have found a lot of misinformation. Just about every “article” in the magazine is an advertisement in disguise, designed to steer you towards increasing the size of Marcus Lemonis’ wallet.

Have you ever noticed how rarely Forest River products are represented in Trailer Life Magazine? Well, Marcus Lemonis and Forest River aren’t the best of friends, so you’re not likely to see any glowing reviews of your RV in those pages.

I used to subscribe to this magazine, but haven’t for quite some time. I refuse to spend my money on anything, anywhere, that might benefit Marcus Lemonis.

Years ago I had a one-on-one debate with Marcus Lemonis on his RV forum about money and how Camping World was ripping-off me and almost every other person who had dealings with his companies. Needless to say, the debate was heated and went on for many, many pages with others participating, mostly on my side of the argument. Somehow, Marcus Lemonis acquired my phone number and decided to take the discussion offline with me. He had his people delete the days-long online discussion (and other threads) and then “banned” me from his site. He had the nasty truth “scrubbed” from his online forum.

In the end, I was refunded for every penny that was, essentially, stolen from me, but it took about four months of dealing with this guy and his people to accomplish that. I guess this is why any evidence of the threads involving this issue were deleted — giving people money they are owed isn’t something Marcus Lemonis wants to do.

I don’t like Trailer Life Magazine.

Bruce

[WFD]

Trailer Life was discussed at length in a post about a month or so back, many of the same things as being said here. I was subscribed for a few yrs but let it go in the past 6 mths, just not the same as it once was, and the price for Canadian subscriptions has gotten ridiculous, so I opted out.
As for Michelins, I have them on my current truck...first yr they were fine, 2nd winter with them and started noticing less traction. Now this winter, they are horrible on snow and not even that good on wet roads. Truck only has 23,000 miles, or 38,000 km... Won't be buying another set, that's for sure!